Oil prices crossed 140 dollars a barrel for the first time in New York and London on Thursday amid a declining dollar and after OPEC warned prices could hit 170 dollars this year.
New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, shot up 5.50 dollars to trade as high as 140.05 dollars per barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for August jumped 6.05 dollars to 140.38 dollars.
The price of crude oil shot up on the new dollar weakness, which makes the dollar-denominated commodity cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.
The president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, said crude could hit a record 170 dollars this year owing to a weak US currency and geopolitical unrest.
“I predict probably prices of 150 to 170 dollars this summer,” Khelil said Thursday in an interview with France 24.
Source: Yahoo News